Myxilla tarifensis sp. nov. (Porifera, Poecilosclerida), with remarks on the genus Myxilla in the Strait of Gibraltar (Iberian Peninsula)

Abstract

A new Myxillidae species from the Strait of Gibraltar, Myxilla tarifensis, is described. It is easily distinguished by a characteristic irregular isodictyal reticulation of acanthostyles which are smooth or slightly spined at the heads, as well as by strongyles as ectosomical megascleres, sometimes with very small and short spines at the ends. Moreover, the recent synonymization of the genera Dendoryx, Burtonanchora and Pseudomyxilla is accepted. A brief diagnosis is given of the Myxilla species found in the Strait of Gibraltar.